Brazil’s Rare-Earth Mining Surge Raises Investment and Environmental Stakes

An analysis of all National Mining Agency records through June shows a sharp rise in rare-earth exploration applications, with more than 86 % filed in the past three years and 268 applications in the first half of 2026. The surge reflects Brazil’s position as the world’s second-largest holder of rare-earth reserves, behind China. Foreign investors are responsible for over four-in-ten applications, led primarily by Australian and U.S. firms. Notably, a U.S.–backed company recently acquired Serra Verde, Brazil’s only commercial rare-earth producer. Chinese firms had not filed any exploration applications as of June, though state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group bought tin producer Mineracao Taboca and announced plans to assess rare-earth potential at its Amazon mine.

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Rare-earth minerals are essential for electronics, defense systems, wind-turbine generators and electric-vehicle motors. The International Energy Agency estimated in 2022 that global demand could triple by 2040. China, which controls nearly half of worldwide reserves and dominates processing, restricted exports last year, prompting the United States, Australia and other nations to seek alternative sources. Brazil’s large, under-developed reserves have thus become a strategic focus for diversifying supply chains away from China.

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The Energy Transition Observatory reports that at least a quarter of the applications overlap with or lie within 10 km of protected areas and Indigenous territories, including parts of the Amazon. Experts warn that mining within these buffers can cause deforestation, water contamination, toxic chemical releases, radioactive waste, air pollution and noise. In Goiás state, the Canadian firm Aclara Resources—which secured $5 million in project-development financing from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation—has a claim that overlaps a small Afro-Brazilian community. yet residents fear operations that could begin as early as 2028** may threaten local springs and wildlife.

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Brazilian lawmaker Zé Silva is authoring pending legislation to create a federal policy on critical minerals, set investment priorities and form a national council to monitor significant foreign influence. He warned that “China dominates processing and refining.” President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that the Senate will advance the proposal, emphasizing national control over mineral resources and insisting that processing and transformation must occur in Brazil.

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• “The challenge today is that China dominates processing and refining,” — Brazilian

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• “We will not allow anyone from outside to come here and exploit our mineral resources, because we want their processing and transformation to happen here,” — Luiz Inacio Lula, president

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